122 crypto projects shut down this year as of Aug. 6: CoinDesk

A total of 122 cryptocurrency projects had ceased operations, gone bankrupt or faced prolonged website outages this year as of Aug. 6, CoinDesk reported, citing RootData. Orkun Mahir Kilic, CEO of Bitcoin layer-two developer Citrea, said the trend reflects the kind of broad restructuring often seen across the tech industry and was similar to what happened during the dot-com bubble collapse. As markets and technology enter a more mature stage, investment has slowed and become more cautious, Kilic said, adding that only projects with clear business models and well-defined goals are likely to survive. He described the process as painful in the short term but healthy over the long run. Ben Fisch, CEO of Espresso Systems, said too many general-purpose layer-two projects have emerged and there is no reason for multiple products to serve the same function. The broader layer-two sector is not consolidating as a whole, Fisch said, but the market for general-purpose layer-two networks has entered a consolidation phase.